What do I like? I like the simple way the author lays out the structure of an effective presentation.

What don't I like? One of the 6 steps is "include a story." But if you look at all the steps, the ENTIRE presentation becomes a story -- which is way better. The author completely missed this.

This points to 2 things to remember when putting together a presentation that influences others:

Structure your entire presentation as a story using these steps

Include at least 1 quick story about a client & their results (or a product/service story) somewhere in your narrative presentation.

In other words, do both!

Oh, and BTW -- I don't like the word "persuasion' in general. That's because persuasion is often about manipulation ("eat your broccoli and you can have dessert"). Influence is about shifting mindsets by offering experiences. Stories are experiences :)

OK -- this post is a bit unusual because it presents more of a comprehensive system for creating presentations, while also identifying where storytelling fits in. The author also makes the distinction between a creating presentation that trains people, and a presentation that persuades people.

Depending on where folks are in your marketing cycle, you are going to want to use this system for creating one or both types of presentations to help prospects move closer to converting.

If you are a manager who has to sell ideas and train others, knowing how to craft the 2 different kinds of presentations is critical. Putting together effective persuasive presentations is a major pain point for managers -- so here's a system for getting that done.

What I like about this post by Chad McAllister is that it's a quick synopsis of a podcast with Curtis Fletcher, formerly with ORACLE, who now coaches executives and managers to be more effective communicators.

There's a link to the podcast so you can gain even more information about the SCORRE system and use it in your work. 'Gotta love that. Onward!

Guest post by Gregory Ciotti. When it comes to crafting words that sell, the research shows us that stories are ...

Dr. Karen Dietz's insight:

Awhile ago I curated the research & article by Dr. Phillip Mazzocco and Melanie Green about Persuasion in Legal Settings: What's the Story? where they talk about when a story persuades, and when it does not. Here's the link: http://www.scoop.it/t/just-story-it?q=legal+settings

Now here is an article -- based on their research -- that summarizes the 6 elements of better stories.

The article is written for bloggers but applies to us all. I particulary like elements 2 (realism), 3 (delivery), 4 (imagery), and 6 (context).

Delivery is learned through practice -- and working on your oral storytelling skills is critical whether you are writing your stories, or meeting with prospects/customers face-to-face. I like the examples of good delivery shared here.

I see a lot of articles about imagery as it relates to visual storytelling, but little about developing visual language skills (metaphors, analogies, etc.). There are some great tips here on story imagery.

And context is king. If you can't change your stories to suit the context you find yourself in, you are most likely dead in the water. I like what the author, Gregory Ciotti, says aboutcontext and buildilng trust.

So go grab the insights from this article and keep sharing/practicing your biz stories!

A new look at the narrative in legal settings with reactions from two trial consultants. To begin, researchers in the area of story-based persuasion draw a distinction between argument-based persuasive communications, also referred to as rhetorical communications, and story- or narrative-based persuasive communications.

Are people persuaded by a story or by rational rhetoric? Or a combination of both? Are YOU more persuaded by a story, rhetorical communications, or a combintion of both?

Hmmmm -- what interesting questions! This article tackling these questions is a bit of along read, so grab a cup of coffee one morning this weekend and dive in.

The conversations about storytelling these days promote the idea that everyone is persuaded by stories. Not so!! The researchers here took the context of trial lawyers to test this premis and find out what REALLY persuades people.

As it turns out, several factors come into play as to whether someone is persuaded by stories only. One factor is the individual's need for cognition like debate, solving puzzles, or considering complex problems. Who knew??!!

Anyway, this is a very interesting article and really puts storytelling as a persuasive medium into context -- and expands our notions about stories, while also course-correcting our assumptions.

The language of the article is somewhat academic but nothing daunting. You will be able to easily get through it.

And I know it will help you get smarter and wiser about how and when to use stories for maximum impact.

In my story consulting & coaching work, I often get asked "What is the difference between persuasion and manipulation?" and "Isn't storytelling just a form of manipulation?"

Read this article for excellent answers to both, and to put both questions to rest.

The article does not specifically address storytelling, but it does address what we are trying to do by sharing our stories in business, and how manipulation is not the goal. The best insights are after the first Q & A in the article.

What a great article about influencing, moving people to action, and sales.

Biz storytelling is all about that. Yet there's ambivalence around it too. Who wants to be a snarky salesman?!

Enter Dan Pink, one of my favorite authors, and his new book To Sell is Human. The author of this article, Heidi Grant Holvorson, reviews Pink's book and makesfabulous points on her own.

As Halvorson points out, Pink says that moving people (selling, persuading, influencing) is an essential component of nearly everyone's job in the modern workplace.

Doing so well and effectively without being a slime ball means making sure the ideas and productswithgenuine meritdo the moving.

This helps avoid the traps of manipulation and intimidation.

I really like Halvorson's insights, her willingness to tackle the stereotypes of sales, and bring us Pink's latest work.

I've commented before on transactional storytelling (using stories for sales) -- not because I think it is bad, but because I don't want us to lose sight that there is much more to business storytelling than at the level of mere transaction.

Pink, I think, helps us frame influence and moving people to action as we tell our stories in sales/influence/persuasion functions (these are not synonymous terms, BTW) -- in a way that really works. Now I certainly want to get his book to add to the others of his in my library.

Anyway, thought you should see this article. Lots of good material here (and it is not long). I hope you gain more comfort with sales and storytelling, and be able to conduct your influence/sales work in your business or organization with more confidence.

Have you ever wanted to be more persuasive, convincing, or if nothing else, understand how others try to influence you? …Of course! Who hasn’t?

Understanding how storytelling works in persuasion, influence, and change, and the research/neuroscience that informs it all is critical if anyone is going to work with stories effectively.

And hooray -- Gregory Ciotti has put together his list of favorite books that help us understand persuasion, influence, change, and stories more deeply. We'll all become more articulate and better at our craft -- whether you are a consultant, storyteller, entrepreneur or CEO.

Some of these I've read, some I haven't -- so I can't wait to dig into this list myself.

I hope we all learn lots and gain lots of useable insights for our work. Enjoy!

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